Diamond Cut
by KimiMeagan
Summary: The slavery... The pain... The fear of the unknown... Ami could not stand being around him any longer than necessary. Yet, when orders call for her to look after someone so similar to herself, she finds herself willing to do anything to protect her.
1. Chapter 1

Walking towards the door, I gripped the cup in my hands; knowing that if even one drop was spilt that I would be punished for it, regardless of the cup being filled to the rim. Just the slightest wrong move and it would go everywhere. Remembering why I even did this even more, I bit my tongue and gracefully walked closer in order to grab the handle of the door and carefully swing it open; most of my concern focused on the cup of wine I was delivering to the master of the castle. No one was standing in front of me as I walked into the room slowly, somehow managing to close the door behind me while the wine in the cup shifted slightly. Holding my breath, I watched as the liquid settled back into its flattened state at the rim; sighing, I moved further into the room while barely being able to see anything because of it being so dark.

"You're late." A deep voice said in a low growling like noise, holding out his hand for the cup as I pushed my feet forward more and lifted the cup to rest it in his outstretched hand. My own hands shook after they removed themselves from around the cup and gripped each other instead to try in vain to keep them steady and still while the demon in front of me sipped at his wine in silence; not moving until he told me otherwise. "Have you met my new pet yet? Her name is Yukina; I do believe… she's much like you: an ice demon." I felt my eyes moving on their own as they landed on a girl huddled in the corner on the far side, a light reflection off the walls as I thought about moving forward to touch it and confirm my suspicions. I wanted to feel the cold touch of ice again because of not being able to use my own powers because of metal bands on my ankles and wrist, as well as one wrapped around my neck, each one of them bounding my powers from use.

"Her friends will come for her soon… I know this. I want you to watch after her until they do." His voiced said lowly as my mind briefly thought about fear being in his voice as he mentioned them. Moving his yellow-green eyes in my direction, I lowered my head in apology at the thought; knowing he had heard it by the way he looked at me in that one instant. "Show her to the room the two of you will share and show her the job she will be doing now. I expect her to fit right in here…" his lips turned up in a wide grin with his pointed canines glittering in the dark as I felt a shiver of discomfort run up my spine at the show of happiness I was going to guess it was… I had no idea what he felt or even if he felt at all… the only thing I could do is nod my head and turn towards the girl – Yukina – as she remained curled up in the corner as if not wanting to move from there for anything.

But I knew I had to get her out of this room for more reasons than one… To obey the demon sitting in the throne-like arm chair behind me and to get her as far away from him as I could. I knew how unnerving he was. I knew how painful his punishments were. I knew she was kidnapped. I had to get her away from here… and especially away from him. I moved closer to her and felt a chilling breeze on my face from the ice she was surrounding herself with in hopes of keeping people away from her, much like what I had done the first time I was here. The demon hated ice but he managed to find a way to get to me without ever landing a hand on me… obviously he didn't care enough to do the same to Yukina.

"Come with me," I said to her in a whisper, moving my hands to lightly touch her shoulders as I glanced behind me at the demon still sitting there; silently thankful that he was more focused on the computer screens in front of him than the two of us. He was waiting for something… like he always was. He wanted a worthy fight. Which was the main reason he continued to kidnap people: hoping someone strong enough and worthy enough to fight with would come to try and rescue them. No one came for me… no one came for a majority of the other girls here… He was obviously hoping someone would come for Yukina. Yukina's shoulders tensed under my light touch, moving her head up after a moment and looking at me; her blood red eyes shocking me because of the odd color. I had never met an ice demon with red eyes before… They were mesmerizing.

I must get you out of here, I tried to sign to her, not knowing if she could understand it or not because it was the only way I could talk to others without getting into trouble. Speaking with each other was usually banned because of the demon lord not wanting us working against him. He would put down our 'rebellion' before it would ever take roots; even if we were only trying to lighten our hell by making some form of a friend in these walls. Yukina just stared at me as I tried to think about what would get her to trust me long enough to get her out of this room… She's an ice demon just like me – so said the demon lord – which made me remember the gem my mother had cried for me that I had tied around my neck like all the other ice demons in the Makai. Lifting the chain around my neck to show her the sparkling white gem, I watched her eyes widen slightly before she nodded her head and slowly stood to her feet with my help; the unshed tears in her eyes gradually receding while I took her hand in mine and made my way towards the door that would get us out of the room he was in.

Just standing in that room would make the strongest of us shiver in discomfort.

"Who are you?" I heard Yukina ask after a moment of me walking down the hall with her hand in my own, enjoying the cool feeling that came off of them. "Where are we going?" she questioned, obviously looking around the hall as we continued down it; stopping outside a door as I turned towards her and practically repeated the orders the demon had given me. Obey or be punished… those were our only options. And – at first – I ended up choosing the second because of not wanting the first.

"My name… is Ami." I said to her quietly, looking around the room briefly before ushering her in and closing the door behind us; knowing the room didn't seem like much but the rooms you were given became your only sanctuary here, if nothing else. The room was in perfect condition, as to expect within a castle, but it was small and crammed. There were two beds on either side of the room, two of which currently not being used. The other two had identical neko demons lying in them; their tails unmoving as they stared either stared sadly up at the ceiling or at the back of their eyelids, both trying to sleep while they could before they had to get to work as well. The castle worked in shifts: one for the day and one for the night. I worked the night shift… which meant Yukina was going to be working the night shift as well. The guards had three different shifts to make sure that none of us were switching out at the same time. One morning, one noon, one night.

"He said for me… to show you around." I answered her other question as I gestured for her to follow me over to the bed so that we were both standing in between the two being unused. "Do you… want the one close to… the door or further… away from it?" I asked her, my voice being quiet once again because of not only not wanting to wake the two nekos but also because of not wanting any roaming guards to hear me speaking. They'd punish me without the demon lord ever needing to know about it. Yukina just looked at me silently as if she wasn't sure how to answer so I just gestured for her to take a seat on the bed furthest from the door so that my bed would be between it and her.

"Were you taken too?"

I thought about her question before I was able to explain the castle to her… thinking back to the memories I had suppressed while being here. The memories I didn't want to think about. "It was… a long time ago…" I said to her before shaking my head to rid myself of the thoughts before they all had resurfaced, reaching over to the end table between our beds to pull out an old worn-out map that had been looked over many times by everyone that had passed through this room during their service. Some didn't live too long… others were moved to different rooms. None were ever rescued. Pointing over it a few times and telling her short names of the rooms, I gestured for her to take it with her as I began to stand to my feet once more.

"You're a Korime, too… aren't you?" I heard Yukina's soft voice ask as I closed my eyes at the name. It seemed to have been years since I had ever even heard of that title. _Korime_… _Ice Maiden_… how I missed those words. I nodded my head back at her shortly and gestured for her to follow me as I made my way towards the door, feeling her hand slip into mine before I moved my fingers around her hand just as she had done to me. I continued to hold her hand – glad the guards didn't punish us for doing that – and led her into the kitchen on the far end of the castle; where I had retrieved the demon lord's cup of wine before delivering it to him. Yukina stayed close at my side, obviously having trust and faith in me to take care of her from the people here that would do her harm. I would for as long as I could because of not wanting her to end up like the others. She was a Korime… an Ice Maiden, like me… but she hadn't been damaged yet… she still had a pure look in her gaze… I wanted her to keep it for as long as she could.

"We clean… deliver… and cook, at times." I explained to her as I thought about what else I would need to tell her. I couldn't think of anything else unless she didn't know how to cook or couldn't cook well. I could handle her share of cooking if I had to… and delivering wasn't hard… neither was cleaning. It was just tiring because of the quantity they gave you. "Can you… cook?" I kept my voice low in hopes of avoiding getting punished today because of trying to show a new girl the ropes… which I hoped deep inside that would only last a very short time.

She nodded her head slowly, shortly. "A little." I nodded my head in return and looked over at the head chef that the demon lord had taken when she was very young. She couldn't remember her old life… the only thing she knew anymore was the demon lord smiling at her and taking her here to his castle. She was one of the first he had taken… and one of the few that were completely loyal to him; which saddened us as much as frightened us. Some believed they could talk freely in the kitchen since the guards rarely came in because of the faint smell of burning meat, but they soon found out that there were ears in the kitchen as much as there were in every other room. The head chef would inform the demon lord or the guards of the incident and it would be taken care of. Quickly. Efficiently. Without pause. I would keep Yukina out of trouble for as long as I could… at this moment, the only thing I could do is try to get her to talk as little and as quietly as possible without telling her exactly why.

It wouldn't end well for me if I told her what would happen while standing in front of the head chef, who thought of him as a love interest for some odd reason that none of us seemed to understand. She didn't tolerate people talking about him unless it was in praise… which didn't happen. Ever. "Come." I whispered to her quietly as I held out my hand for her to take once more as I quickly maneuvered her out of the kitchen and back to the room we were to be staying in, finding the two nekos lying in bed completely still; hopefully finding the sleep they so desperately needed and desired. I crouched down to sit on my knees in front of the end table and open the bottom drawer to reveal a small worn black leather book to her. It was how I communicated with others… even if it was mostly used as my diary.

"This is my life… from when I was taken here until now…" I explained to her as I held the book close to my chest while looking back as her and staring into the blood red orbs that showed trust, friendliness, and purity. It pained me to know the look wouldn't last forever but I gestured for her to crouch down in front of me after I turned my back to the end table and faced her completely; she obeyed without question and looked at me with a look in her eyes that I couldn't read, regardless of being able to read most. "Don't pity me… or the others. We don't need it… I just want you to be safe… and avoid the things I myself had done once before."

Yukina nodded her head in understanding as I looked down at the book in my arms before handing it to her, knowing that – even though I told her not to – she would pity everyone of us in this castle; she might shed her tear gems or actually find hatred for the first time in her life against someone else. I didn't know what all else she might do but I knew for a fact that she would not enjoy reading my story in the least. But I'd tell her to continue to read it if she stops… it's for her own good to know what happens whenever you do something wrong, whether knowing it was wrong or not.

"We work at night…" I said to her almost silently while moving my eyes over to a window at the top of the wall on the opposite end of the door, watching the sun slowly begin to rise through the thick iron bars. "And sleep in the morning… we should rest while we can." I gestured for her to stand up and nodded my head to her when she slipped my diary into the folds of her light sky blue kimono, smoothing out the fabric so it appeared as if nothing had changed. I stood to my feet and lifted the covers on her bed, waiting for her to climb in before covering her up myself and resting a hand on her head gently. A gentle touch is one she must've been used to before getting her… and I knew that nothing around would be gentle within these walls. Others cried at a gentle touch because of never having received one before.

"Sleep well, Yukina." I said to her softly, turning to climb into my own bed as a whimper was heard from one of the nekos as she had apparently opened her eyes to discover that the dream she had… was only a dream. And that this was the reality she had to wake up to for now on. I clenched my eyes shut and avoiding shedding a tear at the thought of a dream outside these walls… or even outside the castle itself. It seemed so perfect… it hurt me just thinking about it in any way whatsoever. I quietly hoped that Yukina's first day wouldn't be too difficult… but wanted to kick my own self because of the thought. I knew it would be.

**~ / / / * | | | * \ \ \ ~**

Rocking back and forth, I held Yukina in my arms; trying to soothe her cries; thankful they were almost silent because of the increased security after her arrival. Nothing had gone well for her today except for the cleaning. I had helped with the cooking part of her work and was somehow able to do mine at the same time. I didn't know what all had happened to her during the deliveries but I made it a point not to ask. I didn't like the deliveries… no one did. The only thing that was tolerable about any of our tasks here was the cleaning… and that was the simple reason because of everyone actually leaving you alone so you could do so. Even the guards left you alone while you were cleaning because of hating the messes we were cleaning more than hating us.

"Is it… always this hard?" Yukina asked through a quiet sob as I moved my face slightly downwards to look at her eyes and found her tears lining her eyes and a few gems lying in my lap upon falling there from her face. It hurt to know that – even if I did help her – it wasn't enough. She didn't belong here. None of us did. But it was something no one could help unless they could come here of their own free will and kill the demon lord to rescue whoever they had come for. I hoped Yukina had some form of family or friends or even a mate that would come for her. It was a long shot either way so I merely tossed the thought mentally out of my head as I slowly nodded my head in answer to her question.

"The more you do it… the quicker you get." I whispered to her as she sniffled and rested her head against my shoulder once more, slouching slightly in order to do so because of us being the same size in every way, shape, and form. I went back to my rocking as she seemed to quiet down at the soothing motion. I knew how to calm people down because of my motherly instincts taking over my body and automatically taking care of Yukina, trying to dry her tears. I knew she was no child by the way she appeared, even if she was as small as I was. She could've possibly been my age for all I knew. But, my mother side saw tears falling from pure eyes and ignored my better judgment.

I knew we would be in trouble if a guard caught her crying and both of us talking. "Try to sleep, Yukina… it makes it better." I said, knowing that going to sleep would be the only peace she would ever get out of this place unless she managed to finish all her work before dawn; and even then… they'd think over giving you more work just to keep you busy. Yukina nodded her head into the shoulder of my own kimono before lifting in order to wipe off the tears still clinging to her eye lashes and around her blood colored orbs. I reached over and wiped off the dried tears that were staining her cheeks as she somehow managed to smile at me weakly. It had been so long since I had seen a smile from someone other than the demon lord or one of his followers; I couldn't contain myself from smiling back at her and wrapping my arms around her in a short embrace. She didn't need to be here… I know I'd already thought that but I'd continue thinking so until she left alive and untouched.

"May I… stay with you? I don't like this place…" Yukina said, getting into the habit of talking in hushed voices because of taking notice of the others talking out loud in regular voices before guards hauled them off into another room. I had her look away from the door as a scream echoed behind it, telling her not to look before they would notice if we weren't working. She did, with tears of fear brimming her eyes as she stuck close to me and went back to cleaning the floor with the mop in her hands. Watching her eyes look over at me with hope, I nodded my head; figuring it would be a tight squeeze but not entirely caring since she needed to feel safe at some point in time. It might as well have been while she was sleeping.

I hope someone comes for you, Yukina… I found myself thinking as I stayed awake for a few hours longer so I could brush the strand of hairs out of her face as it held a peaceful expression glued to it. Someone like you has no place here with the rest of us… you had done nothing wrong… and had nothing to amend to. Please, I found myself praying to any higher power out there, let someone come for Yukina and take her as far away from here as possible. Pushing my arm under the pillow Yukina and I both had our heads rested on, I looked down at her when she turned towards me and moved closer; reaching out with one of her hands to grip a part of my kimono in her sleep. I wrapped my arm around her to prevent her from falling – as well as myself – and to soothe her while she slept. Knowing whatever kind of dream she was having, it would always be better than this castle.

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Days went by much of the same, with the exception of Yukina crying. I gave her back her tear gems the day after she cried them and had to explain to her how important it was to keep them out of sight. If the guards knew she could cry gems… both of us would never be able to walk free. Not even if someone did come for her. She memorized the map I had lent her and spent some of her sleeping hours reading my diary after I put in more entries late at night because of knowing where she kept it; I knew she knew I did but apparently she didn't mind because of it always giving her an insight on just who was watching over her. Someone like her in many ways and would do anything to keep her out of trouble.

It was almost a full week after Yukina's arrival that I noticed the guards seemed to be gaining in numbers and were practically posted at every corner, turn, and door in the castle. I found routes that minimized the times we went past guards and shared them with Yukina so she wouldn't have to walk past any of them as much either. They unnerved each of us with their prying gazes and wanting eyes, each one of them waiting for one of us to mess up on something – anything – so that they could take us off to the side for punishment. Which would be whatever they deemed fit… regardless of how minimal the offense might be. They took pleasure in pain.

"Lord Kokuei wants you to deliver his wine." The head chef said to me after she poured said wine into his trademark cup, not lifting it for me to take because of not being able to do so without spilling it when it was filled completely to the rim. She didn't dare try to lift it, regardless of thinking of the demon lord as a prince-like figure. I glanced back at Yukina shortly before walking over to the cup and carefully lifting it from its place on one of the many counters. This wouldn't be the first time I would've had to leave Yukina alone for a few minutes, because of having to deliver the demon lord – Lord Kokuei – his wine every day, only an hour or so before dawn and us having to switch out with the Day Walkers: the ones working during the morning hours.

Going back down the same path I had taken for years, I repeated the process I did the first day I had met Yukina; with exception of finding anyone but the demon lord in the room when I moved my eyes around shortly before lowering them to avoid him noticing my wandering gaze. Letting his hand wrap around the cup, I remained still a little ways behind his chair as I waited for him to dismiss me either verbally or with some gesture. He didn't for a very long time. "They're coming for her…" I heard his deep growl-like voice as I fought to keep my eyes on the ground instead of looking up at him in question. "They are actually coming for _**her**_." Another silence stretched out between the two of us that I was hoping would end shortly so that he could dismiss me from the room. I had nightmares long ago about this room… none of the others scared me more than this one.

Then again… no one had ever scared me more than this demon.

"Leave." Lord Kokuei said lowly while moving his hand in the dismissing motion that everyone recognized. I bowed my head again, in the off chance of him looking back to make sure I did so, and turned to walk out of the room quickly. Heading back towards the kitchen with my feet moving faster across the floor than usual, I wondered who he was talking about when he said that someone was coming for… Yukina. I walked into the kitchen and looked around, ignoring the mess on the floor as I made my way towards one of the guards that were leaning against the wall still moving. Unlike the others scattered across the room.

I reached out in order to rest a hand on his shoulder. I didn't like the guards anymore than anyone else that stayed here… but I could never turn down someone in need when they were right in front of me; even if they were one of the ones that punished me throughout the years I had been here. The guard opened one of his clenched eyes in order to look over at me as I turned to the side quickly and found a cup in one of the many drawers we had in the kitchen, hurrying to my feet as I poured some cool water into it; crouching down back in front of the guard so that he could drink from it when I held it up for him to take.

He didn't say anything as he weakly reached up to grip my wrist and push it up so the cup would go higher and let more water into his mouth, spilling it on his clothes as well as gulping it down as if he was dying of thirst. I didn't argue with the motion because of taking notice of all the cuts and gashes over his body… I was surprised he was still breathing. He finally finished off the water when he pushed it away from his mouth and took in deep gasps of air while turning his gaze back towards me once more. "Give this… to Lord… Kokuei." The guard said with a slight grunt as he reached at his side and revealed a piece of green fabric, pushing it into my hands as I blinked down at it shortly before moving my gaze back up at him. But… there was nothing more that I could do for him; not as long as my powers were being blocked by the cuffs on my wrist, ankles, and a single thick one around my neck. None of them connected to the others unless Lord Kokuei used his own powers to cripple me completely.

I stood to my feet after the guard closed his eyes once more and moved his hand back to his side in order to cover one of the many gashes there. He was already gone. Moving my icy turquoise gaze around the room, I couldn't find any of the girls that worked in here except the head chef that was lying across one of the tables unmoving. Whoever had done this… didn't spare anyone that apparently attacked them. I didn't see Yukina anywhere so I took this as a sign of her making it out of here with the other girls. Hopefully… they escaped. Looking down at the green piece of cloth the guard had obviously tore from something or someone, I made my way back to the room Yukina and I had shared with the two nekos; not finding anyone there… not Yukina or even either of the nekos. It was beginning to seem as if everyone had disappeared.

I thought I heard a sound and turned in the direction of it, ending up looking down the hallway that took me to the demon lord's room; the very one I had walked out of before heading into the kitchen earlier. My hands shook slightly at the thought of walking into the room again… not wanting to go in there even when I had to. Yukina might be in there… she might be hurt. With that thought in my mind, I pushed myself forward towards the door and paused right outside of it; staying completely still as I heard Lord Kokuei's voice on the other end and another's voice. I didn't recognize the voice but I knew it was male and was very angry by the tone of it and how Lord Kokuei obviously had a mutual feeling for the person. Then a soft pure voice came to my ears as I felt my eyes widen and my hand to grip the handle of the door and push it open to find Yukina standing on the other side of the room with Lord Kokuei standing in front of her, his back to me.

"Ami!" Yukina screamed as I felt a sudden terror run through every nerve in my body when Lord Kokuei turned towards me so sharply with a wild look in his eyes that I had never seen before… It frightened me. He growled out my name lowly as I felt the cloth slip from my hands as I backed up slightly before taking notice of a guy holding Yukina back from running towards me. "No! Ami!" she screamed again as I took one glance at her before my eyes darting back over to Lord Kokuei and finding him moving back as if he was getting prepared to pounce on something… and his yellow-green eyes were orange now as they locked onto my figure that seemed to quiver under his predator-like expression. The only thing I could do is run… which was exactly what I did. Turning around sharply, I bolted from the room and heard a holler from behind me shortly before loud footsteps began clamoring down the hallway I was running down.

I knew it would be unlike any of the other times I had run from Lord Kokuei because of how animalistic he seemed and the fact he eyes were a bright vivid orange that seemed to be glowing whenever I had looked in them at the one time. I was going to die if he caught me. I reached out to grab the corner of the wall at the end of the hallway and swung myself around sharply in order to try and gain speed and some distance between the two of us. My body seemed to be moving on its own as it pumped more speed into my already aching legs, pushing me faster and faster as Lord Kokuei let out a loud shout of rage upon sliding against the floor while attempting to turn the corner as sharply as I had. I was only getting him angrier by running…

"Get down!" I looked in front of me instead of behind me at Lord Kokuei moving to his feet quickly and lunging in this direction to find one of the guys from Lord Kokuei's room standing in front of me with his hand stretched out in front of him with a glowing orb at the tip of his pointing index finger, like he was aiming. I thought of how Yukina seemed to trust him so I kicked my own feet out from under me and covered my head with my arms and held my breath by hearing Lord Kokuei's get closer and closer.

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_**KM: Reviews Are Love. ^^ And Greatly Appreciated. No Reviews = No Story. ^^ Just Fair Warning.**_


	2. Chapter 2

A whooshing sound was heard as the wind pushed back my hair violently as if it was cutting through the air itself. I knew I shouldn't but I opened my eyes and moved my head against the ground so that I could look behind me where I was sure Lord Kokuei would be; instead he was a couple of yards away and groaning as he attempted to get back up. Taking this chance as an opportunity, I pushed myself quickly to my feet and ran behind the guy as Yukina immediately wrapped her arms around; my arms moving around her in the same fashion as my eyes remained focused on the battle in front of me, Yukina's eyes were screwed shut as she had her face buried into my shoulder like she had done so before after her first day of working.

Lord Kokuei growled lowly deep in his throat as he rose to his feet and stood up straight as he eyes glared down all of us, the look darkening as it locked onto Yukina and me. "Ami…" he said lowly as I felt my wide eyes sting slightly with the unshed tears of fear beginning to gather in them, pushing Yukina behind me as I took a step back and made it a point in not going towards him when he stretched out his hand towards me. I knew what he was about to do in an instant and turned to push Yukina away from me because of knowing I wouldn't have been able to move away from her by the time it happened. Screaming, I dropped to the floor shortly after Lord Kokuei's knuckles cracked because of him closing his hand into a tight fist; the bands on me sparking with electricity and shock the area they were cuffed on me at, even shocking anything that even came in close contact with it.

I thought I heard Yukina yell out my name and heard someone yell something different at Lord Kokuei… but – honestly – the only thing I could hear clearly was my scream echoing throughout the castle. The pain seemed to be burning itself into my skin and, from there, making its mark on my bones as well; my scream got louder each passing moment as the pain intensified. There was nothing like it in all the world that could make me feel so much pain… make me feel so helpless… make me feel so weak and vulnerable. It hurt me not only physically but mentally as well because I knew he would always have this control over me for as long as the cuffs were on me. The only way to get them off was if he removed them or died.

My back arched as the electricity moved through the bands to cover my entire body and… being a Korime – an Ice Maiden – made it that much worse because of ice still coming from water. In a sense, the shocking was worse to me than it would've been to any other demon… and Lord Kokuei knew that. My body fell limply to the floor with a small thump as I stared at the wall in front of my face directly as my heart hammered in my chest at the pain it just experienced for the third time in its life, my breathing making my chest rise and fall rapidly as I couldn't feel my body at all; a slight tingling sensation coming over me as I took notice of Yukina knelt down beside me with tears in her eyes and her hand resting on the side of my face.

"Yu… kina…" I whispered weakly as my wide eyes blinked shortly before locking onto hers and hearing her choked sob as she bent down low in order to wrap her arms around me and rest her head next to mine with her tear gems landing around my face and on my kimono, the shocking was gone for now… but I didn't return the embrace in fear of it coming back and accidentally shocking her along with me. So I kept my arms at the ready, prepared to push her back in case Lord Kokuei turned in this direction and lifted his hand towards me again; the only way to activate the cuffs… push his energy into the cuffs no matter the distance. All he had to do was stretch out his hand to me and glare… that was about it.

My eyes managed to look through her aqua-colored hair to watch three of the guys Yukina had around her standing around Lord Kokuei instead, the fourth one kneeling beside me with his hand lightly grasping my wrist. I didn't know what he was doing but I could instantly feel the rush of my pulse in the area he was softly pressing down on. Lord Kokuei lifted his head long enough to glare over at me in his natural yellow-green gaze, a grin appearing on his face before his arms caved from underneath him and he fell back to the ground; not moving for a long moment as I close my eyes with a single thought in my mind.

Was it all finally over?

"Ami…? Ami?" I forced my eyes to open again upon hearing a strange noise and a cracking sound echoing around us. I pushed myself up with Yukina's help and turned towards a nearby room to find everything inside of it falling to the floor as if it was falling completely; the ground shaking slightly. Lord Kokuei always joked about no one ever getting out of the castle… even if someone did come and kill him. He had set some sort of trap to guarantee that we never left, even in the event of his death; meaning we'd be buried under the castle rubble with him. "Can you stand?" I heard Yukina ask me in a weak voice, probably weak from all the screaming and crying she had done earlier. I managed to nod my head and didn't look any of the males as Yukina somehow was able to help me to my feet.

"The castle's caving in!" one of them – the tallest one – shouted as he seemed to freak out and look around wildly as if not believe it was happening. Another one – the red haired one – looked around with an observing gaze in his emerald green eyes, shouting for us to all go 'this way' while taking the lead and running down the hallway I had just ran from Lord Kokuei from. I knew this castle like the back of my hand… and the quickest way out was through the kitchen and by making a mad dash through the entrance way from there. I pulled against Yukina with a shake of my head as she tried to help me to follow after the four, making her and the four all look back at me in question.

"Through the kitchen… takes you… to the entrance…" I forced myself to say upon seeing the looks and nodded over at Yukina as I removed my arm from over her shoulders and moved my legs against its best wishes so that I could make it with her to the outside of the castle. I reached back to grab her hand in the same motion and pushed the remainder of my energy into my legs so that I could get to the kitchen hopefully before everything came tumbling down. Upon hearing the five sets of running feet behind me, I tried to speed up when I darted into the kitchen; stopping abruptly as a string of pots and pans fell in front of us, making me look around the room with my eyes dancing to try and find another route out of the room without turning back around. That wasn't an option anymore.

Squeezing her hand tighter in my own, I moved along the wall and ignored the clamoring around me as my mind focused on one single thing: getting all of us out of the castle in one piece before it fell to the ground completely. "Do you even know where you're going?" one of them – the one with slicked back black hair – asked me with an edge to his voice that showed he wasn't angry… but worried. I had been here for years… for so long that I could barely remember my life from before unless I thought really hard back to that time… I knew this place better than I should have. Almost as well as the ones that had been here their entire lives and had the special privileges to go in every room they wanted. I shouldn't have even known the way to the exit…

Looking over at the front double doors of the entrance I let out the breath I was holding that helped me get as far as I did and felt my knees buckling from underneath me that made me fall to the floor in a crumbled heap. Yukina shouted for someone to help as I fought to keep my eyes open at the exhaustion that was taking over my body, telling Yukina softly to go ahead and go… but she didn't listen as she remained by my side before the guys came back quickly because of the roof beginning to fall from four stories above us. One of them – the only one around my height and Yukina's – bent down to lift me up in his arms and completely ignored the others that tossed him odd looks while glancing down at me and over at Yukina briefly before starting towards the entrance/exit with the others hesitating for a brief millisecond. The red haired guy grabbed Yukina and quickly made his way after us with the other two following closely behind.

I heard the crashes; I heard the hammering footsteps as they ran towards the door; I heard everyone's panting; but I also heard a crystal clear calm noise closer than any of the others. The one that was carrying me… his heartbeat was a steady pace. Not racing like I'm sure mine was or even the others. It seemed like he was calm regardless of the situation. I felt my eyes closing completely as my body didn't seem to want to take any more abuse for today as it slowly went numb before my mind followed suit and knocked me unconscious as well. I didn't remember if we made it out of there alright or not… but the last thought in my head was more like a prayer than anything else… Please… let Yukina make it out of there if no one else.

**~ / / / * | | | * \ \ \ ~**

My body finally seemed to wake up as a numbing pain came off of my wrists and ankles, my neck was sore as I thought about lifting my head to look around after opening my eyes but the pain it used to respond to me with made me keep my eyes closed and take a deep breath before merely opening them to look around instead. I ending up staring at a plain white ceiling before I moved my eyes to the side and took note of a white wall with light red flower patterns along them, some shelves along the wall with medical supplies lining them and an odd screen – resembling Lord Kokuei's computer screens – setting on one of the closer shelves tilted so that I could see it directly; even if it wasn't on.

Moving them to the other side I found Yukina leaning sideways while sitting in a chair, her head rested on her arms as they laid on the arm of the chair; her face peaceful as it was every time I had seen her sleep since I had first met her. I felt a smile tugging at my lips as I glanced down at my wrist to find nothing there… no bands… no cuffs… no restrictions. I pushed what energy I had into my wrists, ankles, and around my neck in order to try and heal them while I had a chance; a tingling sensation going over me as the pain left as a comforting soothing tickle, almost, took its place. Like there was a feather moving against my skin at those spots.

After I used enough of my energy to heal myself, I was finally able to sit up without having to grit my teeth in pain; turning my head to look over at Yukina and smile down at her wider because of how much had changed in a short amount of time because of her. Lord Kokuei was apparently dead… we were both alive and out of the castle… her friends or family or whoever they were had come and gotten her before anything could be done to her. She was still pure and alive, that was all I cared about at the moment.

"I see you're awake." Someone's eerily familiar voice said as I jumped and shot my head and gaze in the direction of the voice to find the red haired guy from before standing in the open doorway in front of the bed I was lying in, the only direction I didn't look in besides behind me. I calmed down some seeing it was only him and not Lord Kokuei or one of the guards, nodding my head in response as I moved my eyes back over to Yukina while she sighed shortly in her sleep and shifted slightly as if getting more comfortable. "How exactly do you know Yukina?" I moved my legs to throw them off of the bed and lightly touched the floor with the tips of my toes and wanted to laugh at how cold it was… I missed the feeling.

"I… looked after her." I said to him as I smiled at Yukina still, reaching out to push the hair out of her face because of it falling there when she moved earlier. The red haired guy nodded his head as if he understood but I wasn't sure if he did completely. In his mind, I'm sure he was thinking I was doing this because of wanting the two of us to stick together and escape together because of getting there at the same time… No. That wasn't it. I had been there for years before she came along and was forced under my wing by Lord Kokuei… not that he needed to force me to watch her. All he had to do was say she was like me, say she was a Korime, and I had made it a personal mission of mine to keep her as far away from harm as I could.

Those were the magical words.

"I'm sorry." I turned towards the red-head when he spoke. "I never introduced myself; my name is Kurama." He held out his hand as if to shake my own. I rested my hand in his and started to grip his hand to shake it when he pulled my hand up to his lips and lightly kissed my knuckles, making me uncomfortable and confused as to why he just did that. In response to the feelings, I gave him an odd look before taking my hand back and looking behind him when two others came in the doorway behind him somewhat loudly. Kurama – the red haired guy – quickly turned towards them and made a quiet shushing noise and a swift motion to gesture towards Yukina's amazingly still sleeping figure.

"You're awake." The one with slick backed black hair said as he walked forward with the tall orange haired one right behind him, both smiling down at me in friendliness. "I'm Yusuke and this big gorilla here is Kuwabara." The slick backed black haired guy – Yusuke – said as he jutted a thumb back at the tallest one when he mentioned the other name to apparently introduce him as well, making the tallest one – Kuwabara – shout out at the 'big gorilla' comment before his name I was guessing.

"My name is Kazuma Kuwabara and –"

"Could you… please stop touching…?" I asked him as nicely as I could after taking my hand back from him because of feeling odd with them touching me. I didn't like it when males touched me without permission… and after Kurama kissing my knuckles, I felt odd around them already. I knew they were friends with Yukina by the way they had come to save her specifically… but I still didn't know them that well or even well enough to call them my own friends. The only thing I could do is warm up to them first but… that was going to take more time than it had with Yukina. Girls were easier to trust in my mind than men were. Kazuma Kuwabara's head fell at the question as if I had just hurt his feelings… I hoped I didn't because I truly was trying to be friendly… but it had been so long since I was able to talk to someone freely. I hope I hadn't forgotten how to talk to others.

"You never did tell us your name," Yusuke said to me before I could apologize to him in case I had done something wrong. "It's… Ami." I said to them and watched them all smile down at me at the mention of my name as if it held some secret meaning that I didn't know about. Did they know me from somewhere? "Yukina told us about you and how – she said – you were always looking out for her and keeping her out of trouble." Yusuke told me, explaining the smiles as I nodded my head to him shortly; now understanding why they looked as if they knew me. They had to have been Yukina's friends if she talked to them about me.

"Ami?" I looked back over at Yukina and felt my lips automatically pull up into a soft small smile as she opened her eyes still full of sleep and locked her blood red gaze with my icy turquoise one. "Did you sleep alright?" I asked her as she immediately stood up from the chair and stepped forward in order to wrap her arms around me in a hug that I gladly returned with a light giggle escaping my lips. Yukina said my name again as if she couldn't form a complete sentence at the moment so I didn't bother pushing it any further as she ended up sitting beside me on the bed with her head resting on my shoulder once more, like she had done a few times before. I was thankful she wasn't crying at least.

"I was so scared you wouldn't wake up." Yukina said to me when she pulled back in order to look at me once more. I tilted my head slightly to the side and stared at her oddly as if not knowing what she was talking about until I remembered just when I had slipped into unconsciousness. Right before we had all apparently escaped the fallen castle; after I was almost shocked to death. "I'm fine, Yukina… See. Not a scratch on me…" I said to her quietly like I had always done and stretched out my arms at my sides to show her what I was talking about; all the wounds I had on me before were gone thanks to my healing and I truly didn't have a scratch on me that either of us could see. If I did, I'd heal it as soon as it would come to my attention.

"You healed yourself?" I nodded my head back at Kurama when he asked; looking over at Yukina with another smile as a thought suddenly came to my mind: there were the four guys when Yukina was rescued… there was one missing… the one that carried me out. "Weren't there… four of you?" I asked them after I looked around to make sure that only three of them were in here so I wasn't being rude in the off chance that the fourth one was standing around and I just hadn't noticed him earlier. I would feel bad if I hadn't noticed someone earlier when I had to thank him for saving my life… I would've made any of the others leave me behind and get Yukina out of the castle if they weren't able to keep up as well as he had.

"Huh? Where's the shrimp?" Kazuma asked as he looked around as if wondering the same thing I was. Kurama shook his head and gestured for us to follow him. "You must be thinking about Hiei. He's in the other room; not much of a talker." That's OK; I thought to myself, I'm not either. I stood to my feet and quickly pulled my cream-colored flats back on my feet before obediently following Kurama while Yukina walked at my side with her hand in mine, which made me fell a lot better than it probably should have but I was glad I had at least one known friend with me right now. I didn't like to be at new places by myself unless it was something that couldn't be helped.

Walking down the many hallways, my mind was trying to memorize the way back to the room we had just left like I had done the first time at the castle. I tried to make a map in my head of the place but after us walking around the fifteenth corner or so… I absolutely gave up. There was no way I could remember the way anywhere in this place right now. I didn't think I could even remember the way where we were a few steps back at the moment. "That's Hiei." I heard Kurama said before I looked over at him and followed his outstretched hand to find the one I was thinking about sitting at the window sill, glancing over at all of us before turning his gaze back out of the window.

I walked over to him with Yukina beside me the entire time, even though I didn't exactly need her there at the moment… I was glad she was though. "Hiei…?" I asked, catching his attention as he looked over at me; taking notice of how he had blood red eyes as well. They were so similar to Yukina's… then again… they might've been similar to anyone with red eyes. "I would like to thank you… for before…" I continued, bowing my head slightly in thanks; glad he didn't just brush me off like any other person would. Or even ignore me completely. He just said 'hn' bluntly before turning back towards the window silently. At least he listened long enough for me to get the 'thank you' part out.

"Don't worry about him," Kurama said as Yukina and I both looked over at him. "He's usually like that." I just looked back at Hiei and smiled shortly before turning my gaze over to Yukina instead, reaching my hand out for her to take as I asked her where her room was. She smiled widely and let a giggle escape her lips as she led me back up the stairs we had just came down and jogged down a hallway laughing lightly. The laughter was contagious as I found myself laughing along with her as well; jogging at the same speed she was but stayed behind her so that I could pull her back in case anything suddenly appeared in front of us. Yukina stopped outside a door at the end of the unusually long hallway and turned towards me with another brief smile before pushing it open, saying, "Here it is."

**~ / / / * | | | * \ \ \ ~**

"Would you like some help, Kurama?" I asked him after I walked into the kitchen and found him working on the food by himself. There were lots of people in the house… why was only one cooking? At the castle, Lord Kokuei had a large portion of us working in the kitchen to make sure there was enough food for everyone… and the food had to all be the same size and very delicious. In other words… big plates… perfect recipes… He expected nothing less. Kurama turned to look over at me with a curious look on his face as I just smiled up at him and motioned to the burning chicken as he jumped and hastily tried to save what he could. I looked at the chicken and smiled to myself, thinking back to the first time I tried making them… even though I was almost positive Kurama just lost track of time and usually made them quite well.

"May I?" I gestured to the stove as Kurama was able to look down at me in curiosity without worrying about anything getting burned this time. "It's the least I can do for all of you… I worked in the kitchen at the castle anyway… I know a few tricks." Kurama seemed to hesitate some but, after looking at the chicken he accidentally overdid, he smiled and nodded his head to me while asking what I was going to make. "Lasagna, maybe?" I asked him, not sure if it was alright at first since I didn't know what all they had and what all they didn't have… I would have to ask him where everything was since I was still new to everything here.

"What all do you need?"

"Um… well…" I listed off a few of the things I would need in order to make the kind of lasagna I had in mind and stopped long enough to look over at him to make sure the things I listed were things we had. "Don't worry about the ingredients," Kurama said to me as he waved his hand around the kitchen. "Just about everything you need is bound to be in here somewhere. And if it's not… I'll go get it. Simple as that." I smiled at him softly and nodded my head before asking him for a piece of paper so I could write all the ingredients down to make sure everything we needed was indeed in the kitchen at the moment.

An hour and a half later, I was setting a large pan of lasagna on the dining table while Kurama was setting the plates and silverware at the places the others would be eating at. I hurried back into the kitchen to retrieve the green beans and biscuits we whipped up while making the lasagna, carrying the bowl of green beans in one hand and the small basket filled with the biscuits in the other. I knew exactly how to multitask without spilling or dropping a thing because of the castle… it was drilled into me, in a way. Kurama stepped back to look over the table with a small smile on his face as I did the same and wondered if the others would even like the food I made… the biscuits were made from scratch since I didn't understand how the canned ones worked and I wanted to make the meal 'special' in a sense.

Let's hope it was the good kind of special, I thought to myself as I heard Kurama call for everyone; saying it was time for dinner. Yusuke and Kazuma were the first ones in their seats, as they appeared in the blink of an eye almost at the sound of dinner. While those two were filling their plates in a rush, Hiei wandered in and took his seat as if he honestly didn't care what happened either way as long as no one bothered him. I waited for Yukina to walk in and sit before taking a seat beside her, ending up sitting next to Kurama whenever he finally took his own seat. I watched as Yusuke lifted a forkful of lasagna into his mouth and freeze up immediately afterwards with a blank wide-eyed look appearing on his face, a matching one on Kazuma's whenever he did the same.

"What's wrong? … Is it… not good?" I asked them, not daring to say anything more on the subject as they both blinked and looked down at their plates with the expressions still in place. "Kurama… this food… is," I let a worried look come to my face in fear of using a wrong ingredient in it because of being in an entirely different world from what all Yukina had told me earlier. "GREAT!" both of them shouted the one word before shoveling more of it into their mouths and trying to talk between bites at the same time. I couldn't help but giggle at the scene as Kazuma stopped eating long enough to ask, "Why haven't you ever made this before, Kurama? This is delicious!" Kurama just laughed at the statement with me as I filled Yukina's plate as well as Hiei's and Kurama's. I got odd looks from both of the guys but I was used to it. Yukina knew why I did that because of having to do it all the time at the castle… old habits were hard to kill when I had been doing them for years.

"Because I didn't make it." Kurama said to them as Yusuke was the one to pause his eating in order to ask who did. "Ami made just about all of it. Even the biscuits were made from scratch." I opened my mouth to explain why when Yukina commented on how the lasagna seemed so vaguely familiar. I smiled at her as I reached out and made my own plate with exact similar proportions to Yukina's and Hiei's and Kurama's… old habits died hard… Very hard. "We made it once at the castle… it's where I made the recipe." I explained to her and everyone else even though I took note of how Kurama seemed to stop and look over at me shortly after I did as if he didn't understand something I had just said.

"But you told me to always stick to the recipe and not try to make any of your own," Yukina said to me as I smiled over at her before touching any of my food. "If you didn't want to get punished… you'd stick to the book." I explained simply, as if I didn't have a care in the world even though the memories I was talking about haunted me no matter where I went. The scars I obtained from the horrid place… would never heal. Would never go away. They'd be there for as long as I could breath. And I was sure I would be breathing for a long time… being a demon and all… "What happened when you were punished?" Kazuma asked after I answered Yukina's question, obviously not knowing anything about the place as I remained silent and lifted a few green beans into my mouth with an impervious look on my face and my eyes being unreadable if they could be seen… I wasn't sure if anyone could because of how I tilted my head down slightly in hopes of my bangs shielding them from view.

The table got eerily quiet upon my own silence and Kazuma's question while I heard Yusuke snap something inaudible to him. I didn't catch it… but I didn't want to eavesdrop on others' conversations… It seemed intrusive to me. I finished my plate and heard a few other clinks of others putting their silverware down on their plates a little while later. Hiei, Kurama, and Yukina. I stood to my feet and gather up their dishes and just smiled at Kurama whenever he offered to help with them, already having all of them stacked neatly in my hands as I made my way into the kitchen once more… this time, to clean up everything we had made. I remained quiet as I wiped down the stove with ease and then the counters after setting the dishes in the sink to handle later. I had been so used to doing all of this by myself for years… that I still hadn't gotten used to anyone helping me. So whenever I looked up and found Yukina and Kurama washing, drying, and putting away the dishes; I had to find something else to do in order to keep myself occupied. And to avoid thinking of certain memories.

I walked back into the dining room to see if Yusuke and Kazuma were done; they were. I started gathering their own dishes when I took notice of Yusuke nudging Kazuma in his side as I picked up the last of their silverware and went to turn back towards the kitchen when I heard Kazuma call out my name quickly and uncertainly. "Um… I'm sorry…" Kazuma said after I turned my gaze over to him in question. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything…" I just blinked at him, finding the 'upset' word in his sentence to be a great understatement to what I felt… but I thought his apology was sort of sweet, though unnecessary. "Don't worry about it, Kazuma… It was nothing." I explained to him and smiled when he and Yusuke looked up at me in question, going back into the kitchen before I hoped they would notice that the smile was fake.

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**_KM: REVIEWS! DX_**


	3. Author's Note

Hello Fellow (And Loyal) Readers,

Yes, I do apologize for not having update since... forever ago! (-.-;) I don't have much of an excuse since the excuse I WOULD use... would have been the perfect opportunity used to write more chapters. That didn't work out very well... BUT, what I'm here to say is that I'm currently putting this story on hold until further notice. There's a little bit too much going on right now for me to juggle all these stories I have on here (some I have flat out lost inspiration on) AND try to write down the ideas for new ones before they leave me... Again...

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Do not despair though! I will continue writing immediately. First being on **All That Matters** (Bleach) since I have been neglecting it for far too long and I still have WAY too much plot to write out. Next in line will be **For The Love Of Shadows** (Bleach), considering I DID promise a Two-Shot... And THEN **Tough Love THE ONE SHOT** (YYH), because the demand for a CONCLUSION is so damn great, and last but not least **How To Save A Life** (Bleach)... Chapter ONE. **How To Save A Life** was originally going to just be a One-Shot after I lost my mind in trying to find a way to turn it into a story... BUT, after much reviewing and begging and pleading, I have decided to turn The One-Shot version of **How To Save A Life** into just a crappy version of a prelude... A better version will come later, rest assured.

Also, on a side note, pleased don't be too surprised when I start posting Kuroko No Basuke stories as well. That's my current obsession, I'm sorry to say, and the amount of story ideas that come to me concerning that anime/manga... IS RIDICULOUS! I almost can't keep up with all of them so they end up getting jumbled together... BUT I digress. I'm beginning to rant. ^^;

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BUT, for those of you reading this and thinking "_The fuck is all this? I came here to read about such-and-such! Not this crap called writing! 0+_"... Again, I do apologize... -.-; Being hospitalized is no excuse, as I had - literally - absolutely NOTHING to do... This is my third time having had the SAME damn surgery so don't worry about feeling guilty or anything about being mad. I'm mad at myself for letting everything get so far away from me. I'm an old pro at this hospital thing so don't worry about that either; I'm fine. ^^ Much better than the last two times, even if it is taking longer to heal... ...

Anyway, I hope I didn't piss off TOO many readers. ^^; I don't like to disappoint so I'll start writing as soon as possible... Which means after I eat. ^3^

Ja Ne,

KimiMeagan


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